Chattanooga- ranked among the best

CHATTANOOGA, TN (UTC/The Loop) It’s true. UT Chattanooga and the city alone has recently racked up dozens of top rankings among the best by magazines like Outside Magazine and Southern Living Magazine.

Southern Living has recognized Chattanooga in their articles numerous times, naming Chattanooga on their list of “The South’s Most Scenic Drives” and admires the city’s style in articles like “Chattanooga Bungalow With Vintage Style,” “Charming Chattanooga,” and the “Tennessee’s Readers’ Choice Awards.” Recently an edition of Best of Southern Living Magazine featured a article titled “10 Cities You Will Absolutely Love (and Your Budget Will Appreciate, Too)”, which named Chattanooga as number one.

Downtown Chattanooga, Tn.

As far as the University goes, UT Chattanooga was Tennessee’s only public institution to grow in enrollment in 2012. UTC has been named as a 2013 College of Distinction, which acknowledges universities for outstanding student engagement, great teaching, vibrant communities, and successful outcomes.

U.S News and World Report of 2013 Best Colleges Guide ranked UTC as number 14 on their list of colleges that offer their students the best value. UTC was one of only three colleges in the South to be ranked on this Best Value Colleges Guide.

Sloane DeBerry, a junior at UTC says, “I’m proud to be a Chattanoogan.” She also says she likes that Chattanooga is an outdoorsy city and appreciates the artwork and attractions downtown.

Outside Magazine named Chattanooga as “Best Town Ever” based on readers votes and the city was featured on the front cover, along with a 2-page story in the magazine.

CNN Travel says the city is a “regional gem” with “literally dozens of attractions packed along the city’s downtown riverfront.”

And that’s not all. Chattanooga is widely recognized for having one of the fastest net services, appearing in articles from The Economists and Communications Technology. Authors from The New York Times report, “only Hong Kong and a few other cities in the world offer such lightning-fast service, and analysts say Chattanooga will be the first in the United States to do so.”

Once known as the “dirtiest city” in the 1960’s, the town struggled to redevelop a new identity after the closing of the factories they depended on. It is believed that this remark, as being Americas “dirtiest city” was what sparked a wide effort for citizens to rebuild their town after decades of economic problems.

Over the years Chattanooga has been able to find its identity and through tax incentives and land grants used about $630 million to draw in $2 billion of investment from numerous companies. Such as, Volkswagen, Amazon Fulfillment and Alstom, which created about 8,000 jobs. According to The United States Department of Labor, Chattanooga’s current rate of unemployment is 6.4%, compared to the national average of 7.8%

Wall Street Journal writes that Chattanooga is now one of the nation’s strongest local economies and relates the cities growing housing market and major job creation successes as byproducts of a community.

A journalist for Southern Living wrote, “few cities have reinvented themselves over the past few decades as successfully as Chattanooga,” and “[Chattanooga] now shines as one of the most family-friendly, outdoorsy spots in the South.”